Refrigerator-car partition



amb ma 1929.. H. B. MEINHARDT REFRIGERATR CAR PARr'l-QI Filed June 29, 1927 5 March 12, 1929. H. B. -MEINHARDT REFRIGERATOR CAR PARTITION Filed June 29, 1927 C5 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 12, 1929. H. B. MEINHARDT REFRIGERATOR CAR PARTITION 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed June 29,

40 of cars.

Parenteel Mar. 12, 1929."

UNITED 'STATES l .1,704,758 m'rlezla'r,orf-'Icao HENRY B. MEINHABDT, or crrIcAGdrLLiNoIs,

nnrncrennaroacaa PARTITION.

Application led June 29, 1927.v Serial No. 202,185.

My invention relates in generalV to -l refrigerator car partitions."

It relates more in particular gto a removable 4and adjustable partition designed to be r 5 shipped in bundle form to the point of use,

and/or readily and quickly placed in a car to segregate a portion thero Refrigerator cars employed in the ship-l refrigeratorv cars have been put in use .to solvev this difliculty, so that only one end of the car would have to be iced, but this-scheme has not worked out because the partitions were semi-permanent and there -was no flexibility such as was required when the size of shipments varied. Shippers would often rip out 'partitions when they received a partitioned car and needed the full -car capacity.

The object of my presentjinvention is. a-

provision of a removable portable partition for a refrigerator car..

- which can beA placed in Va car quickly, or with the same speed removed and vmade into Y bundle 'form' for shipment.

AnotherV object 1s to provide removable` partition which permits ready access to a car but which maybe quickly. secured together tovclose the same.

Another object is to lprovide av curtainwhich is easily adjusted to different sizes In one embodimentof my invention,

l lprovide a 'two part-partition consisting of a pair, -offabric curtains, preferably a fairly eavy grade of duck. Reinforced 'marginal edges are provided for securing -the'two cur-A tains to the ceiling and sidewalls of the can in overlappingrelation, with adjustable means for securing theoverlapping portions together. A 'special' type nail is provided and a pocket for holding the nails when the curtains are-shipped, afpair of cords fastened on the back of one of the curtainsfacilitating the formation of a self-contained bundle.

-.Otl1er objects and featuresof the invenl tion will become -apparentfroni a consider- A'ation of the following detailed descriptionV 1 showing the means Another obect'is to provide apartitionA with' side walls 14 and 15 and floor racks 16 y von which the shipment is' placed. My-,im-

proved 1partitionfis adapted to be secured' taken with -the wherein accompanying drawings,

Fig. 1 is a section through a refrigerator l i Fig. 3 is a plan-view of theVA left-hand orv rst applied curtain;

curtain; y Fig.' 5 is an enlarged fragmentaryview tains together;

'Fig 6 i's'an enlarged fragmentary section along the line-('of Fig. 1;

or fasteningthe vcur-- ,65 I Fig. 4 isa plan view of the complemental Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section i along theline 'lL-.7 'ofFign 1, 'and'v Fig. '8 is a perspective view,v of the'partivtion when rolled into bundle form.

The invention is adapted to be applied to the usual form of refrigerator car l0 having -A to holdice 12 for-lowering thetemperature doors (not shown) and a bunker for ice is of course provided' at each end. The car has lthe usual outer wooden:frame'with `proper insulation, andthe inside has a ceiling v. 13

acrossthe car :and vfastened by nailing or of appurtenanees'to facilitate their be cured to the car, and also permittingin 1 shall designate as left and right hand'curtains respectively. These curtains 'are shown in Figs. 3 and 4 and willnow be described in detail. r

Vnail holes for the application of' the oma tains to' the ceiling. f

The outside edges of the curtains are .provided ,with rein 4 an ice bunker 11 at the end thereof adapted 9cotherwise' to the :ceiling and side walls thereof.v v' j v The partition-,consists of-two curtains 17 and'18; which are provided withanur'nber se- 95 4 t em to be rolled into bundle form easily when re moved therefrom. The curtains 1'( and 18' Each of' the curtains has a reinforced upi. .i per margin 21 Yand .22, the reinforcementv i r.

-iioforce'd margins 25 and` 26 'I 'which are formedfrom a-number of thick- .v

nes'ses of fabric with leather tabs 27-27 se-v cured by sewing or the like at regular intervals thereon. At the center of each yone of theleather tabs, a nail hole 28 is provided facilitating'the application of the outside marginal edges to the inner side walls of the Arefrigerator car. The corners where the upper and side edges coincide are cut away in the manner shown so that when the margins are turned at right angle to the curtains for application to the inside of the car, the corners of the curtains will fit snugly in the eave corners of the car. The curtains are reinforced by arcuate strips 29 at these corners to prevent tearing of the fabric when a strain is placed thereon.

l At the bottom ofeach one of the curtains making up the partition, are separate aps or aprons 31 and'32 which are sewed to the bottom of the curtains proper in the man- "ilner illustrated. The curtains themselves are dimensionedlso that they donot touch the Hoor ofl even the lowestcar, and accordinglly only-the flaps are in contact with the floor or floor racks where they are apt to be injured or worn.

. length so that inthe highest ceiling'car they will trail on thefloor racks, and accordingly a goodair seal is obtained at the bottom of the partitionwithout exposing the curtains proper to excessive deterioration. When the iaps areworn or rotted, they are of course 1 removed and new ones applied, so that one `set of curtains will usually outlive several sets of fia s. v

The di erence in the widthof cars make l. v*it necessary to provide adjustable fasten- 'ing means for securing the curtains together` at their intersection. -For obtaining this result, I provide hooks 33 on the right hand .curtain with a number of eyes 34 disposed in a transverse row in association with ca cli one of the hooks on the left hand curtain.

The hooks 33are fastenedat one end of a spring. 85, the other end of the spring being -prevents the spring from being extended far enough to exceed the elastic limit of the material therein.

. Any suitable fastening means such l'as nails or screws, `may be employed to secure the curtains to theY ceiling and side walls of the car butl have made useof a speciali nail.

41 havingI the usual' head 41a with an inner The flaps are of sufficient` headv or stop41". The stop 41b limits the degree of insertion of the nail, and at the same time regulatesthe insertion so that a tight engagement will always be obtained. workman applying the nails simply drives 4them in as far as possible and the head 4la is lalways left exposed so that a pulling tool can easily'encircle the head for the purpose of removingthe nails when the curtains are taken down. I provide a pocket 42 having a closing flap 43 on the left hand curtain for holding the nails which arerequired to fasten the curtains to the car.

It often happens that after the curtains are placed into position, it is necessary to Vgo into the end of the car which is partitioned oil, either to add or remove some of the perishable freight. To facilitate such movement, I provide hooks 44 on each" one of the curtains near the outside edge thereof, with an inserted eye 45 at each one of the inside edges of the curtains, so that the lower portions of the curtains may be hooked back 'in the"manner indicated schematically in When the curtains are vremoved from the ,car (following a technique which I will hereinafter describe) they are rolled up into bundle form and fastened together. For this purpose, I provide fastening cords 46 and 47 secured to reinforced portions of the right hand curtain with, hook members 48 and 49 at the free ends thereof. Rings 51 and 52 also secured to the reinforced portions of the curtain are adapted to receive the hook members when the cords 46 and 47 are placed around the rolled or bundled curtains, andl the curtains are then held in a form to bc shipped without the necessity of using any fastening means which do not constitute a part of the curtains themselves.

lVhen the curtains are placed in position Thel in the car, the left hand curtain is first .placed in position 'with the upper reinforced margin 2l facing toward the icc bunker, and

placed against the left hand curtain but with its margin 22 facing away from thel ice llO . the fasteners are nailed. with the strip at the top only. Now the right hand curtain is tenedto the ceiling alone. ,When they have .been so fastened nand are -found to' hang evenly, the side margins are then nailed to vthe sides'- of the-car; The tia-ps or. aprons .31 and 32- are disposedin proper. position ontlie fioor racks so as to closeup the bottom, .and the curtainsare fastened in the center 'byconnectingthe hooks v33 to the .proper rings 34,- depending upon the width' of the car in which the curtains are applied. If it -is necessary to o into theportion of the car whichv is partitioned off bythe curtains, thehooks 33 are removedand eyes in Cil the inside edge of the curtains are hooked back in the hooks 44. v i

Now assume that the car has been shipped to a destination Where the partition will not he required. The partition is then removed from the car and sent either back to a central point or to some other destination previously decided upon.

In removing the partition, the technique isv observed:

The curtains are first disconnected from each other. and the side nails then removed and placed in the pocket, the curtainsthen hanging free from the ceiling. Now the nails are removed from the top of the-right following -hand curtain.v and this curtain is laid out flat with the fastening cords 46 and 47 underneath, so'that the curtain Will appear in the manner shown in plan in Fig. 4. The nails are then removed from the top of the left hand curtain and this curtain is placed on top of the right hand curtain with the pocket up, and With the reinforced margin 21coinciding with the margin 22 on the rst laid curtain. Now the curtains are picked up together at vthe bottom and folded over in the center so that the flaps 31 and 32 together overlie the upperv margins of the curtains. The curtains are 'now rolled together around the reinforcements 21l and22 so that these parts of the curtains constitute the core or center of the bundle. `"When -the curtains are fully'rolled, the 'fastening cords will be' found on the outside of the bundle, so that it is necessary simply to pass them around the bundle and fasten the hook members in the rings 51 and 52. As the curtain isalready stenciled so that its shippping destina-` tion appears on the outside of the bundle, it is now ready for shipment Without the necessity of adding a t-ag or taking any other precautions whatsoever.

To 4facilitate handling of the curta1ns, 1

stencil on the face thereof, f ull directions as to how the curtains are to be used, how

they are to be applied, and hou7 taken down. I find that not only are these instructionsthel curtain may vary depending upon the ideas of `those using-them. v I have obtained the best results with a fairly heavy duck for the main part of the curtain Witlra somewhat lighter duck for the flaps at the bottom.

` out of its propervplane, but if by any chance l v .it should be bent, it will spring back to-nor;

mal andl no damage will result.` .The reina palrof The Ametal parts are made of rust-proof steel,

and the strips 23 are of spring steel.. This prevents bending of this reinforcing-strip forcing tabs 27, I have made ofleather but of course other material such Aas batting .I fabric could be substituted. I refer in the claims to fabric curtains but I do not limit myselfto what is generally considered fabric, but I include any material such 4as rubberv sheeting or the like which Would'beV flexible enough for use in the' manner described.

An advantage of my curtain' partition will be apparent when a typical. condition is considered. On a hot summervday a small shipment of perishables requiring refrigeration and a relatively large shipment'of nonperishable freightl which has absorbed a great amount of heat are to be shipped from point A. They can all be loaded in the same refrigerator car, but the icerequired to reduce thel temperature of" thevnon-perishable freight (which would have to ybe done before the small quantity of perishable freight would receive any benefit from the refrigeration) is enormous. Even this is preferable however, `to the use of two cars, viz a; re-4 frigerator car, for the perishables and an` ordinary boxk car. for the non-perishables, and under these conditions probably the vWhole car .would be iced, and used to carry all the freight, perishable and otherwise,

from that particular point. The amountof ice used lwould bevery great, and thefperishables would not receive the best possible protection.

With iny curtain partition, one. end of the A Y car only will have to be iced, and my removable partition employed to segregate'the perishable freight. The non-perishable shipment canthenbe loaded in the remainend of a car and obtain better vtemperature control and a lower temperature with vless than half the ice (or fuel) in one end of the' car then can be obtained With a full car'of w no cur-5.

perishables with both ends iced and tain'used.

Although I places,'for example partitioning olf a por-V tion of an automobile truck usedk for long distance-'hauling'. j Otherpossibilities lwill readily suggest themselves to those aehave described my*invention i' as applied only to refrigerator cars, it is ob Y vious that it may be used in manyanalogous quainted with the art, and for this reason I do not confine myself to the details or to the use described, and the linvention is' limited only by the scope of the appended clalms- WhatI claim as new 1. A refrigerator ca-'r partition comprising` fabric curtains, meansfor securing and*desiretov 'secure Vby-United.States Letters `Pate'zruist v.

' tains when 'in overlapping relation may be y between the bottom the top'and one side of each of the two cur' tains to the ceiling and side walls vof the car, a hooksecured by fiexible means toone curtain and ka plurality of hook engaging members on the other curtain in association with each hook, so that the curtains maybe secured in refrigerator cars of varying sizes, and in each instance, the tvvocurtains secured taut in overlapping relation.

. 2. A partition as detined in claim 1 with al hook secured to the outside margin thereof and a ring scoured to the inner margins so that said curtains may b e hooked back to furnish access to thev enclosed portion of the car.

brought close together.

5. A partition as defined in claim 3 wherein said curtains have a separate apron sewed to the bottomv thereof adapt-ed to rest on the car floor to prevent th passage of cool air of the curtains and the car floor.

6. A partition as defined in claim 3 where- Y in said curtains arel securedjto 'the car by special nails driven through the reinforced edges "thereof, and a pocket is `provided on v the face of one of said curtains for holding said nails lwhen the curtains are removed from/the car. y v

7; A partition as defined in claim. 3 Where'- .inv curtains are fastened to the inside of the car by special nails, with apocket'. on the face of one curtain to receive the nails, and

Y fastening means on the reversed side of the other curtain for secu-ring the curtains in bundle form when removed from the car.

8. A partition as defined in claim 3 Where- 3. A refrigerator 'carpai'tition comprising in said curtains are secured together in over lapping relation by hooks and eyes, at least one of which ,is secured to the curtain by flexible means.

9. A partition as defined in claim 3 Where-l in said curtains are secured together in overv lapping relation by hooks and eyes, at least one of which is secured to the curtains by a flexible element, with a non-fiexible strand for preventing overstressing of Vsaid flexible element. e A

10.' A refrigerator car partition formed of suitable fabric comprising a pair of fabric curtains with means for securing said curtains across the interior of a refrigerator car, means secured to one of the curtains for holding the pair of curtains in bundle form when removed from said car, said means for securing the curtains lin bundle form includes a pair of strands having hooks at the end thereofand eyes at the place Where they are sef cured to the curtain, the strands adapted to be extended around the rolled fabric partition, and the hooks adapted to engage in the eyes. v

A11. A refrigerator car 'partition comprising a vpair of fabric curtains, an upper marginal edge on each curtain reinforced with a 'flat spring steel bar,` with holes therein for nailing the vcurtains to a car ceiling, means for securing the curtalns to the sidev y walls of the car, and meansfor'securing the curtains together lin overlapping relation.-

- EIA-refrigerator carpartition/compris- Y top and side walls of the car and releasably .secured togetherl in overlapping relation',

.the curtains extending almost to the floor of .thecar and having separate flaps or aprons for extending to the car floor and lyingl partly thereon for closing the spacebetween the fioo'r and the4 bottom of the partition,

ing a pair of fabricl curtains secured to the the fiaps being replaceable When'aworn or otherwise unsuited for further use.-f

In Witness whereof, I hereunto' subscribe my naine this 26th day of May, 1927.

HENRY B. MEIN HARDT. 

